Chapter 478
Chapter 478
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 478
Chapter Title: Resolve
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Something enormous that you cannot bear.
A cold sneer laced the voice of the God of Offerings.
"For a very long time, he has been planting his seeds throughout the Abyss. He sought to collapse the rifts from within and corrupt the Reaper Realm to seize control of it. His plan was to first stop the two hearts that govern the world's cycle, then slowly kill off the Abyss."
But all those plans had gone awry.
All because of one man: Park Chan-woo.
"You installed a new king in the rift to prevent its collapse and established a new order in the Reaper Realm to purify the corruption. His long-laid plans, his very intentions—all turned to failure."
She looked Park Chan-woo straight in the eye.
"On top of that, you chased even Sepiro beyond the great rift. That being he had singled out as his most powerful piece for invading the Abyss. With his intentions failing one after another, he will no longer hide in the shadows."
The God of Offerings hardened her expression.
"The Destroyer and the seeds he left behind will now ignite in earnest across the Abyss. They won't hide anymore. They'll reveal their true forms and try to plunge everything back into chaos."
She pointed a finger at Park Chan-woo.
"And you are the only bulwark that can stop them."
She continued with desperate urgency.
"So don't die. Survive. Grow stronger, Park Chan-woo. Your growth is the only path to this world's survival."
...
Park Chan-woo, who had been listening quietly, could only nod.
Sepiro.
He was everything to Park Chan-woo.
The reason for his regression. The absolute wall he had to surpass.
He had vaguely thought of him as the final destination of this long journey.
That if he could just topple Sepiro and shatter his arrogant order, this exhausting war would finally end.
But no.
Sepiro was not the end.
An even greater existence.
A being from the unfathomable depths who could use even the transcendent dragon Sepiro as a tool for his plans: the 'Destroyer'.
Park Chan-woo's mind cooled to ice.
All the battles so far had been mere prologue.
The God of Offerings was right.
His survival was no longer just a personal matter.
He was the sole bulwark standing against the Destroyer's chaos consuming this world.
That was the true fate given to him upon his regression.
'I have to grow stronger.'
He had to truly reach beyond level 0.
To a point where he could protect the entire world behind him, unshaken by any threat.
Overwhelmingly.
There was a way.
'The Tower of the Gods.'
The final legacy left by the transcendent Lir.
A space of pure trials and growth, free from any laws or interference of the Abyss.
There, he would test his limits, shatter them, and leap beyond.
Lir must have left the Tower of the Gods solely for his own growth.
After claiming her legacy at the tower's summit, it wouldn't be too late to head to the Creator's domain.
He had to do it within the remaining time.
'I will surpass level 0, no matter what.'
His resolve hardened.
But the problem remained: humanity and the dragonkin.
How would they react to his absence?
They had only just opened the floodgates of hope.
It hadn't been long since they escaped the terror of annihilation, united under a new god, and taken their first steps toward the future.
If he, their sole focal point, vanished without explanation...
It would undoubtedly cause massive chaos.
Faith is like fragile glass. Once cracked, it's hard to mend.
Their worship and belief in him could turn to anxiety and doubt in an instant.
'With great power comes immense responsibility.'
He was no longer alone.
On his shoulders rested the fates of two races—not to mention the countless weak in the Abyss.
At the very least, he had to ensure they wouldn't waver in his absence. He needed contingency plans.
Afterward, Park Chan-woo delegated power and authority to Lee Hyuk-soo and assigned roles to the dragons, but that wasn't enough.
What they wanted wasn't a proxy.
They wanted the symbol of 'Park Chan-woo' himself.
Just seeing him on the throne would give them peace of mind and the will to march toward the future.
But he had to leave.
Caught in this irresolvable dilemma, deep furrows formed between Park Chan-woo's brows.
As if mocking his profound anguish, an indifferent voice came from behind him.
"Is that what you're agonizing over?"
It was Zero.
He had somehow perched on the throne's railing, looking down at Park Chan-woo with pity.
"......To you, that's probably all it is."
Park Chan-woo shot back curtly.
"You wouldn't understand. How hard it is to build trust, and how easily it shatters."
"No need to."
Zero's reply was simple.
"They don't want your 'presence' itself? Then just show it to them."
"How, when I'm gone?"
"Simple."
Zero hopped lightly off the railing.
He stood before Park Chan-woo and stared right at his face.
Shrrrr...
In that instant, a bizarre change began to overtake Zero's body.
His sharp jawline softened, his ashen hair turned jet-black, and his emotionless eyes began to take on Park Chan-woo's signature deep, serene glow.
His build, his face—even the subtle aura emanating from him.
In mere seconds, Zero had transformed into an exact mirror image of Park Chan-woo.
"......"
Park Chan-woo was momentarily speechless.
"This should do it."
Zero, wearing his face, spoke in his voice with utter nonchalance.
"I'll impersonate you and hold down the fort here for a while."
It was a solution so straightforward and perfect that even Park Chan-woo hadn't anticipated it.
Doubt crept into Park Chan-woo's voice.
"With your cold, inflexible personality, can you really pull off acting like me convincingly?"
"Don't worry."
Zero, in Park Chan-woo's form, flashed his signature faint smile.
It was a chillingly perfect imitation.
"I've spent quite some time with you. All your memories, emotions—even your unconscious habits—are logged in my database. I can act more like you than you can."
Zero was the embodiment of Sepiro's 'logic' and 'calculation'.
To him, 'acting' was merely a sophisticated simulation deriving the optimal result from collected data.
"If I sit on the throne and make occasional appearances, those foolish dragons and humans will be reassured. Meanwhile, you can focus solely on your own business, undisturbed."
Park Chan-woo stared at Zero in his likeness for a moment.
Finally, he spoke.
"......Why?"
His voice held pure curiosity.
"Why help me? Aren't you a being who only follows efficiency and logic? This is a boring, troublesome task that gains you nothing."
The perfect smile on Zero's face flickered ever so slightly.
He averted his gaze briefly before responding in a gruff tone.
"......Don't get the wrong idea."
He met Park Chan-woo's eyes again.
"This isn't for you. It's for me."
For the first time, something hotter than mere curiosity burned in his eyes.
"I just want to see it. How far this Abyss's greatest 'variable'—you—can go. What's at the end of that path. Watching it up close is the most 'intriguing' thing to me right now."
Zero took a step closer.
Gazing straight into Park Chan-woo's eyes with his borrowed face, he said,
"As long as this intrigue lasts, I'll help you."
It was a promise—and a chilling warning.
'If the intrigue fades, I can turn away at any moment.'
Park Chan-woo instantly recognized the blade hidden beneath those words.
Zero's principles still revolved around his own interests and calculations.
If Park Chan-woo ever fell short of expectations or ceased producing intriguing variables...
He would turn his back without hesitation, in the coldest way possible.
He might even become the deadliest enemy.
Yet Park Chan-woo quietly nodded to the precarious alliance.
He had no other choice right now.
With Zero's help, he could minimize chaos among humanity and the dragonkin, buying precious time to focus purely on his growth.
"......Thanks."
Sincere gratitude slipped from Park Chan-woo's lips.
At that moment, Zero—in Park Chan-woo's form—whipped his head to the side, as if caught off guard.
It was an utterly human reaction, like someone hiding embarrassment from an awkward compliment.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and reverted to his usual icy tone.
"......No need for thanks. This is just a temporary fix anyway."
He faced Park Chan-woo again.
"No matter how perfectly I mimic you, I can't stay here forever. It'll eventually be exposed."
"Why?"
"Because I can't generate the same 'variables' as you."
For the first time, Zero's voice carried a subtle emotion akin to a sense of inferiority toward something he lacked.
"I can find the most perfect answers. But you create new ones no data predicts, ones no one sees coming. That's the fundamental difference between us."
He was right.
Zero could mimic perfectly, but he couldn't create anew.
The miraculous choices Park Chan-woo occasionally made, defying common sense and logic.
Those lay beyond Zero's calculations—possible only for Park Chan-woo.
When time passed and a new crisis arose...
Zero wouldn't be able to respond like Park Chan-woo.
That's when everyone would suspect his identity.
"So you need to return before it's too late."
It was an urging—and the sole expression of Zero's 'faith' in him.
That if Park Chan-woo returned, any problem could be solved.
Understanding all that, Park Chan-woo nodded once more.
"Got it."
And so, the two gods assigned their roles.
One would remain on the throne to guard the kingdom; the other would venture forth, bearing the world's fate, in search of new power.
"I really mean it—thank you, Zero."
"......"
Zero turned his head away again.